1. Field of the Invention
The present invention encompasses a building component used to make insulated concrete forms and, more particularly, to a system that can be used to make cast-in-place walls using two opposed side panels or tilt-up walls using a single side panel.
2. Background Art
Concrete walls in building construction are most often produced by first setting up two parallel form walls and pouring concrete into the space between the forms. After the concrete hardens, the builder then removes the forms, leaving the cured concrete wall.
This prior art technique has drawbacks. Formation of the concrete walls is inefficient because of the time required to erect the forms, wait until the concrete cures, and take down the forms. This prior art technique, therefore, is an expensive, labor-intensive process.
Accordingly, techniques have developed for forming modular concrete walls, which use a foam insulating material. The modular form walls are set up parallel to each other and connecting components hold the two form walls in place relative to each other while concrete is poured therebetween. The form walls, however, remain in place after the concrete cures. That is, the form walls, which are constructed of foam insulating material, are a permanent part of the building after the concrete cures. The concrete walls made using this technique can be stacked on top of each other many stories high to form all of a building""s walls. In addition to the efficiency gained by retaining the form walls as part of the permanent structure, the materials of the form walls often provide adequate insulation for the building.
Although the prior art includes many proposed variations to achieve improvements with this technique, drawbacks still exist for each design. The connecting components used in the prior art to hold the walls are constructed of (1) plastic foam, (2) high density plastic, or (3) a metal bridge, which is a non-structural support, i.e., once the concrete cures, the connecting components serve no function. Also, these procedures also cannot be used to make floors or roof panels.
One embodiment of a connecting component is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,459, which issued to Mensen on Feb. 21, 1995 and which is incorporated herein by reference. This patent discloses xe2x80x9cbridging membersxe2x80x9d that comprise end plates connected by a plurality of web members. The bridging members also use reinforcing ribs, reinforcing webs, reinforcing members extending from the upper edge of the web member to the top side of the end plates, and reinforcing members extending from the lower edge of the web member to the bottom side of the end plates. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, this support system is expensive to construct, which increases the cost of the formed wall.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by the present invention, which provides an insulated concrete form comprising at least one longitudinally-extending side panel and at least one web member partially disposed within the side panel. The web member extends from adjacent the external surface of the side panel through and out of the interior surface of the side panel. Two embodiments of the present invention are described herein. The first embodiment uses opposed side panels that form a cavity therebetween into which concrete is poured and cured. The second embodiment uses a single side panel as a form, onto which concrete is poured. Once the concrete cures and bonds to the side panel, it is used as a tilt up wall, floor, or roof panel.
In the first embodiment, the web member is molded into a side panel, in which the web member projects beyond the interior surface of the side panel and facing, but does not touch, an opposing, identical side panel. The first embodiment also uses a connector which attaches to the two opposing web members, thereby bridging the gap between the two side panels for positioning the side panels relative to each other. The connectors preferably have apertures to hold horizontally disposed re-bar. The connectors also have different lengths, creating cavities of different widths for forming concrete walls having different thicknesses. The connectors are interchangeable so that the desired width of the wall can be set at the construction site.
The web member is also molded into a side panel for the second embodiment so that a portion of the web member projects beyond the interior surface of the side panel. In use, the side panel is first horizontally disposed so that the interior surface and portion of the web member extending therethrough are positioned upwardly. Forms are placed around the periphery of the side panel and concrete is then poured onto the interior surface. Once the concrete cures and bonds with the interior surface and the portion of the web member extending therethrough, the side panel and connected concrete can be used as a tilt-up wall, flooring member, or roof panel.